Shuttle XPC SZ170R8 V2: Small but Powerful

Compact, efficient and incredibly powerful if you spring for the right parts, the Shuttle XPS SZ170R8 V2 has a lot going for it. The small form factor of the motherboard does not take away from its power. Even better is its capability as a portable machine.

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The live-action adaptation project for Ritz Kobayashi’s Mahjong manga is in full swing, and we are getting two new trailer s, which gives us new details on the project’s upcoming live-action film. The first video is the 60-second version, while the second video is the shorter 30-second version. According to the videos, the film is slated...

America’s four large carriers haven’t exactly been privy to Windows Phone 8-powered handhelds so far, but at least as far as Sprint is concerned things are about to change. The network has just unveiled its first two WP8 smartphones, which it plans to start selling “later in the summer”.

First up, we have the Samsung ATIV S Neo, which is not very different to the original ATIV S. We don’t have a full and official list of features yet, but the display seems to be the same (aka 4.8-inch 720p), the battery is identical (2,000 mAh) and you get an equal amount of RAM as last year – 1 GB.

We can’t spot any design tweaks either, so there’s a good chance the ATIV S Neo will measure 8.7 mm in thickness and weigh in at 135 grams. Still, there has to be something different, right?

There is. The dual-core processor inside the Neo is clocked at 1.4 GHz, unlike the one powering the ATIV S, which is 1.5 GHz. In theory, that should count as a downgrade, but Neo’s chip might be a Snapdragon 400 one, which is likely faster than the S4 Plus of the “first-gen” ATIV S.

Sprint’s ATIV also comes with 4G LTE speeds in tow, but the pricing sounds off. $150 with two-year contracts? You can get top-notch Androids for that.

Oh, well, let’s move on and give HTC’s 8XT some attention too. This also resembles a past product, the 8X, but in many ways it’s a step in the wrong direction for both HTC and Windows Phone.

For one thing, the 8XT sports a 4.3-inch display with a WVGA resolution (800 x 480 pixels). Then there’s the 8 GB of on-board storage, cut in half compared with the 8X. The front camera has also been downsized, from 2.1 to 1.6 MP, but at least the rear snapper is still a nice 8 MP unit and you get 1 GB of RAM.

The processor is a dual-core Snapdragon 400 (this time, for sure), there’s 4G LTE, a pair of BoomSound speakers, microSD support, plus Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 3.0, GPS and 1,800 mAh battery. All in all, not a bad set of specs, but for $99.99 (with contracts) it’s probably not enough. Is it?